My Perfect Imperfections

At a first glance, especially on Instagram, it can seem like everyone is living the lives of their dreams. But that’s not exactly true, is it? These are just common misconceptions, caused largely by us, because we only ever show the world what we want it see, hiding our insecurities behind only the most exciting highlights of our lives.

Recently, I recently watched a video from ClothesEncounters, one of my favorite fashion and beauty vloggers on YouTube, where she did a video highlighting all of her “perfect imperfections,” a tag originally created by AndreasChoice, and I was really inspired to dedicate a post to this tag as well.

In the midst of the selective highlights that we display on social media, we some times forget that we’re all just human, with our own insecurities. This is why I wanted to share this post on the blog today because regardless of what our imperfections are, they’re what makes us who we are, and it’s important for us to not only acknowledge it, but to also learn to embrace it.

Hopefully, you’ll all enjoy this more personal post today! Without further ado, let’s get started!

3 Imperfections

1. Uneven Face

I’m not sure if anyone notices this, but I actually have an uneven face. I know that by nature, no one has a symmetrical face, but in my case, I feel like my face is strangely uneven. More specifically, the left side of my face is a bit “bigger” than the right. That’s because the jaw and cheek bones on the left side of my face are a little larger, so visually, it looks a little uneven (at least to me).

Growing up, I was always a little self-conscious about this certain feature on my face, so I always parted my hair to the side, so that more of my hair will cover left side of my face, so the left side of of my jaw bone wouldn’t be so apparent. As a result, I appeared to have a smaller, more symmetrical face.

When I was in college, due in part to the popularity of Korean cosmetic surgery, I actually even considered getting jaw reconstruction surgery because I was a little tired of not being able to have any other hairstyles, but after conducting research about the procedure, where I learned that parts of the jaw bones are sometimes shaved or even completely removed, the thought scared me so much.

In a lot of the recovery stories that I read about, a lot of patients cited that they oftentimes lost very crucial nerve sensations, such as feelings in their ears, different parts of their face, or even in their mouths because when these specific portions of the jaw bone are shaved/cut during the reconstructive process, the nerves attached to and embedded in those tissues and bones are removed as well. In some older patients, they even cited premature sagging of the skin and flesh on their cheeks because their jaws could no longer support their face.

This is because the bone structure we’re born with is meant to be able to hold all of the tissue on our face together. Once you reconstruct it, the new structure of your jaw may not be able to necessarily support your face anymore.

After learning about all of the negative side effects, I just really didn’t think it would be worth it. My uneven face is probably only noticeable to me anyways, and I wouldn’t want to sacrifice crucial nerve functions and a strong jaw, especially as I get older, for such temporary beauty. Though I’m still a little self-conscious about my uneven bone structure, I am happy knowing that I’m not permanently impairing my face for something very superficial.

2. Wide Shoulders

Though I’m definitely not as tall as Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid, I am considered tall for an Asian girl (5’7″ or 170cm, for those who are curious), and with a taller frame comes wider shoulders, something that I’ve actually been self-conscious about for the longest time.

In Asian cultures, the smaller and more petite a girl is, the more delicate and feminine she appears, and growing up, I always felt a little out of place because I was taller and just appeared “less feminine” than most of my more petite friends.

As I’ve grown up, though, I’ve learned to really embrace and love my shoulders. Not only is my collar bone very apparent when I wear off-shoulder tops or strapless dresses, my wider shoulders are also essential when I wear coats and blazers. I’ve noticed that on smaller frames, coats and blazers can sometimes overwhelm the person wearing it, mainly because their smaller shoulders can’t really “carry” the weight of larger outerwear. On my wider shoulders, though, coats and blazers are more fitting, and I’m the one who’s wearing the outfit, not the other way around.

3. Small Bust

For my last imperfection, I wanted to talk about my bust size, something that I think troubles a lot of girls.

I’m genetically pretty thin (I weigh about 105 lbs, or 47-48 kg), and with it comes a naturally smaller bust size as well. For my height, my chest is definitely smaller than normal, but I’ve learned to just embrace the assets that I have. I mean, that’s what push-up bras are for, right? 😀 Hahaha, jokes aside though, I love how I can still fit in to so many brands that are for meant for teenagers because I never really grew out of my high-school body LOL! It definitely gives me more options when shopping, and I’ve noticed that a lot of “teen” brands are a little cheaper too! 😀

Now that we have the imperfections out of the way, it’s time to focus on the three things that I like about myself! 🙂

3 Loves

1. Hair

One of the things that I really love about myself is my hair! Not only do I love the texture, I also love the color of it so much!

If you don’t already know, I actually still have virgin hair (i.e., I’ve never dyed it). When I was a baby, I used to have pitch black hair, but as I grew up, it started becoming lighter and lighter due to genetics (my grandma also had very light hair when she was young), so now my locks are actually a natural shade of dark, ashy brown.

I’ve definitely thought about lightening my hair before, but after careful consideration, I’ve decided against it because I love how my natural hair color is already lighter than normal, and it’s relatively low maintenance since my hair is still very healthy from not being chemically treated in any way. It honestly saves me so much time and money since I don’t have to get regular touch-ups or use super expensive hair care products.

2. Fingers

I also love my long and thin fingers. I genetically have very long and lithe limbs, so my fingers are definitely no exception. Just to give some perspective, my fingers are as long as some of my super tall friends’ fingers, and they’re at least six feet!

Growing up, I played the piano, and my long fingers gave me such an advantage. Even though I don’t play the piano anymore, I love how my long fingers allow me to type very fast, making me pretty efficient on the computer. I also love how I can wear a lot of rings as well since my longer fingers allow me to stack a bit more than usual hahaha! My longer fingers also help to showcase my nails, and that’s a big plus, since I’m such a fan of cute nail art and fresh manicures.

3. Fast Metabolism

Last, but definitely not least, in the list is my fast metabolism! I got this from my mom, and I’m so happy that I did! I generally don’t really restrict myself, in terms of food, and I usually eat whatever I want, but I don’t tend to gain weight easily. Though I do try to eat healthily since I don’t want to be reckless with my body, I do like the fact that I can indulge in little treats without too many repercussions! Another big plus – I can usually see results pretty quickly if I do workout more intensely! 😀

And there you have my perfect imperfections! I hope you were able to learn a little more about me personally, since I know I don’t usually share these types of posts on the blog! Let me know if you like these types of posts, and I’ll definitely try to write them more often!

Also, let me know what are some of your insecurities or loves about yourself! Always excited to hear from you all! 😀

Awww Elizabeth, this is a good sharing, but imperfection about how we looK? to what extend? I mean to what standard is it? how you look is how you look, and you cannot point out the imperfection. the what you think “flaw” is actually filling up all the negative space that makes the imperfection PERFECT!
oh well…. I can go on and on. Nice sharing, but I was hoping to read more about IG feed and what is behind what people posting their post and why?http://sepatuholig.blogspot.com/
IG @grace_njio

This is such a great post babe!!! Thank you so much for bravely sharing your “perfect imperfections” about yourself!! It’s so funny, I wanted to wider shoulder to balance out my petite body ( I slightly and comparatively have a bigger face so…)

I think this is an interesting idea. We all have “imperfections,” but the key is making peace with them and making sure to focus most of our attention on what we do love about ourselves. I think you’re so pretty!

What an excellent post! I love hearing about what you love about yourself and all those things are true. I have similar insecurities although I would trade my shorter height for yours in a nano second! I also have a small bust and ears that stick out that would bug me all the time. Now I embrace those differences and learn to love myself the way I was born. Thanks for sharing this! xoxo, Christinehttp://dailykongfidence.com/

I love this post! It’s so encouraging. As much as I tell myself not to, like you said, it’s so easy to get stuck in the social media game of comparison. I use to hate my thick brows and chubby face, but now I’ve convinced myself that I can save money on brow products and chubby face makes me look younger haha. Thak you for sharing these positive words! xx

Yes, it’s really hard to not get sucked in to the comparison game, but I’m glad that we’re all slowly becoming more and more open with our insecurities and imperfections 🙂 Really glad that you thought this post was encouraging, Tiffany! It really means a lot! ❤